Month: July 2020

Manchester Jazz Festival simply could not take place each year without the rich mix of support from theatres and independent venues across city and the dedicated staff that work behind the scenes within them.

As the city’s longest running music festival, we’ve been devastated to read about forced cut backs and redundancies at arts organisations in Manchester, many of whom have shown us such amazing support over our 25 years.

Yesterday’s Government announcement of a £1.57 billion rescue package to help UK culture weather the impact of coronavirus is an incredible boost that could not come soon enough.

Live music, the arts and culture brings millions of pounds to our region each year and are vital to local employment and our economy more widely. But let’s not forget, they also bring so much joy and connects us as a community and a city in so many ways.

We must wait to see how this support is rolled out and work together to find a real way forward.

In the meantime, supporting arts and culture in the city and beyond is crucial. If you can, buy a ticket for an online gig, pay for and download an album from your favourite regional artist or buy a gift voucher or t-shirt from a Greater Manchester venue.

A world without arts and culture is unthinkable and we must unite to do all we can to support this industry.

Kirsty Fairclough, Chair of the mjf Board of Trustees.